Daniil Medvedev says no change in key tactics even after narrowly surviving trouble in Australian Open 1R

World No. 5 Daniil Medvedev was forced by Thai qualifier Kasidit Samrej to sweat it out in the first round of the 2025 Australian Open. Playing his first Grand Slam main draw match, Samrej used drop shots to great effect and pushed the Russian to five sets.

Medvedev, known for his inclination towards staying deep in the court, had trouble handling Samrej's precisely executed drop shots as he averaged 50 per cent on the net points against the Thai's 71.

The Russian eventually survived the test and prevailed 6-2, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 after a three-hour-eight-minute-long battle. Following the result, he sat with the media in the main interview room of Melbourne Park and fielded a question if he would reconsider his decision to change his court position.

In response, Daniil Medvedev noted Samrej's quality drop shots would've troubled most players on the tour and he's confident about his tactics since he has put in a lot of work in the pre-season.

"Today it's one thing to do the dropshots, a lot of people do this against me, not everyone wins, it's the other thing to do it like he did it. He was doing it like one meter behind the net with a backspin and pretty long. I was, like, 'Okay, when is he going to miss one?'," Daniil Medvedev said, adding:

"Then he missed one or two in the fourth and fifth set, 'Okay, thank you very much.' Because the drop shots he made today, they would work almost against everyone, Jannik, Carlos; maybe not. But so many guys, it would work against them too. Not really worried about the drop shots in general. Actually, worked a lot during the preseason. So wished I could be better today, but it takes time.

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Daniil Medvedev: "When my team watched Kasidit Samrej's matches, they didn't see one drop shot"

Daniil Medvedev (Getty)

Further answering the same question from Sportskeeda at the 2025 Australian Open, Daniil Medvedev revealed that his team didn't spot Kasidit Samrej playing any drop shots from the footage of his previous matches.

"The thing is that he used it maybe not first but second set, and second set I was close. Just same. When my team watched the matches, they said they didn't see one drop shot," Medvedev said.

Daniil Medvedev's next opponent at the Happy Slam is teenager Learner Tien, who qualified for the main draw through qualifiers. In the first round, Tien ousted Camilo Ugo Carabelli in a five-setter (4-6, 7-6(3), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4).

Medvedev and Tien haven't played against each other on the ATP Tour thus far.